Can my wife claim spousal Social Security benefits after receiving pension lump sum from school job?

YES she can get spousal but it might be reduced because of the pension. its called WEP or GPO or something like that for government workers. my sister went thru this and got less then normal spousal

Your wife may be eligible for spousal benefits, but there's something called the Government Pension Offset (GPO) that will likely affect her. Since she worked for a school district and received a pension, her Social Security spousal benefits would typically be reduced by 2/3 of her government pension amount. For example, if her pension was equivalent to $900/month, they would reduce her potential spousal benefit by $600. If her full spousal benefit would be $1,000, she'd only receive $400 after the offset. She should also check if she's eligible for benefits based on her own work record. Even with limited Social Security-covered employment, she might qualify for something. At your appointment, specifically ask about: 1. Her eligibility for benefits on her own record 2. Spousal benefit amount after GPO reduction 3. Whether the lump sum needs to be converted to a monthly equivalent for GPO calculations Bring documentation showing her lump sum amount and any information about how it was calculated.

just wanna say that its ridiculous how they penalize people who worked for schools and government. my mom was a teacher for 30 years and barely got anything from dad's SS when he passed because of this stupid rule. government pension offset is UNFAIR!!!

The other comments about GPO are correct, but there's a key detail about your wife's lump sum payment. The SSA will need to calculate a monthly equivalent of her lump sum to apply the 2/3 reduction. Bring ANY paperwork you have showing how that lump sum was calculated. Also, your wife should definitely apply for benefits on her own work record! Having reached full retirement age (66+2 months for someone who's 67), she can apply for both her own benefit and the spousal benefit, and SSA will pay whichever is higher after any applicable reductions. When I went through this process last year, I was hitting walls trying to reach someone at SSA to explain my pension situation. I eventually used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA representative within 20 minutes after spending days trying on my own. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me hours of frustration before my appointment because I needed specific questions answered.

Something no one mentioned yet - does your wife have at least 40 Social Security work credits (usually 10 years of work under Social Security)? If she spent most of her career in the school system where she didn't pay into Social Security, she might not have enough credits for her own retirement benefit. Another consideration is the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which is different from GPO. WEP reduces her own benefit if she gets a pension from work not covered by Social Security. GPO reduces spousal/widow benefits. Honestly, these provisions are confusing even to some SSA employees. Make sure they check BOTH possible reductions.

just my 2 cents but print out info about WEP and GPO from ssa.gov and take it with you. my husband and i had our appt last month and the person helping us had to ask her supervisor about the pension stuff. some of them dont deal with it everyday so having the info handy might help

One more thing to keep in mind - since your wife is at full retirement age (FRA), she's eligible for the full spousal benefit of 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (before any GPO reduction). If she's eligible for both her own retirement benefit and a spousal benefit, SSA will pay her own benefit plus the difference to equal the higher amount. Also, since she's past FRA, there's no penalty for either of you working while collecting benefits. The earnings test doesn't apply after FRA. Bring to your appointment: 1. Photo ID for both of you 2. Social Security cards 3. Marriage certificate 4. Pension documentation with lump sum details 5. Recent tax returns 6. Bank account information for direct deposit Good luck with your appointment!

after all ur appointments done come back and tell us what happend! lots of us dealing with same stuff and its helpful to hear real examples